26-year old righty swinging outfielder Kent Matthes came into this season as the Rockies’ #16 prospect according to Baseball America. He has played in 105 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Rockies so far this year and he is 110 of 392 (.281 avg, .849 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 19 homers, 55 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Matthes has now played in 376 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 390 of 1,419 (.275 avg, .840 OPS) with 214 runs scored, 65 homers, 236 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. Matthes could be nearing his first shot at the show when rosters expand next week.

25-year old lefty swinging 1B Ben Paulsen has been playing really well in 2013 for the Rockies. He has played in 86 games in AAA-ball for the Rockies so far this year and he is 98 of 325 (.302 avg, .906 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 26 doubles, 10 triples, 11 homers, 60 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Paulsen has now played in 516 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 545 of 1,981 (.275 avg, .771 OPS) with 269 runs scored, 56 homers, 299 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Paulsen could get his first shot at the majors when rosters expand on September 1st, if he keeps playing well in AAA-ball until then.

The Rockies have released 34-year old righty starting pitcher Aaron Cook. Cook pitched in 8 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Rockies this year and he was 0-5 with a 8.15 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. Cook gave up 56 hits and 11 walks while whiffing 22 batters in his 35 1/3 innings in AAA-ball, as he got hit really, really hard. Cook pitched in 238 games (206 starts) in his 10 years with the Rockies and he was 72-68 with a 4.53 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Cook is the Rockies’ all-time leader in games started (206) and wins (72), innings pitched (1,312 1/3). Cook is also #4 in ERA (4.53), #8 in WHIP (1.47), #6 in strikeouts (558), #2 in complete games (11) and he’s tied for #3 in Rockies’ history in shutouts (3). Cook is gone, but not forgotten. That being said, he won’t be missed.

The Rockies have designated 25-year old righty reliever Joe Gardner for assignment. Gardner pitched in 13 games (0 starts) in AA-ball for the Rockies this year and he was 3-2 with a 7.01 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Gardner has now pitched in 94 games (76 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 34-27 with 1 save, a 3.84 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Gardner was part of the return the Rockies got from the Indians a couple of years ago in the Ubaldo Jimenez deal. This just didn’t work out for the Rockies and they won’t miss Gardner too much moving forward.

UPDATE: (7/12/2013) – Joe Gardner has cleared waivers and he has accepted an outright assignment to AAA.

The Rockies have signed 34-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Xavier Nady. Nady played in 70 games in AAA-ball for the Royals this year and he was 79 for 255 (.310 avg, .868 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 11 homers, 43 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He last played in the majors in 2012 with the Padres and Nationals. Nady has played in 939 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 792 of 2,932 (.270 avg, .756 OPS) with 361 runs scored, 101 homers, 406 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Nady will start his career with the Rockies in AAA-ball.

The Rockies have signed 42-year old righty reliever/starter Miguel Batista to a minor league deal. Batista pitched in 8 games (7 starts) earlier this year in AAA-ball for the Blue Jays and he was 1-2 with a 8.36 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. Batista last pitched in the majors in 2012 with the Mets and Braves. He has pitched in 658 games (248 starts) in his first 18 years in the majors and he is 102-115 with 41 saves, a 4.48 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Batista will start his time in AAA-ball for the Rockies. If he has anything left in the gas tank, Batista could get a shot later this year for the Rockies.

23-year old righty starting pitcher Dan Winkler has been razor sharp for the Rockies so far in 2013. Winkler has pitched in 15 games (all starts) for the Rockies in A-ball this year and he is 10-2 with a 1.99 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. Winkler has only given up 47 hits and 24 walks while whiffing 105 batters in his first 90 2/3 innings so far this year which is pretty darn impressive. Winkler has now pitched in 52 games (all starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 25-15 with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Winkler could get promoted in the very near future if he keeps pitching so well.

The Rockies have released 26-year old righty reliever Brett Jacobson. Jacobson pitched in 10 games (1 start) in AAA-ball for the Rockies this year and he was 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.53 WHIP. Jacobson gave up 17 hits and he walked an amazingly awful 26 batters while whiffing 10 of them in 17 innings this year! Jacobson has now pitched in 175 games (19 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 18-18 with 12 saves, a 4.39 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. This is no loss moving forward for the Rockies.

The Rockies have designated 30-year old righty reliever Logan Kensing for assignment. Kensing pitched in 19 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Rockies this year and he was 0-1 with 7 saves, a 2.57 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He also pitched in 1 game out of the pen for the Rockies this year, working 2/3 of an inning without giving up any hits or runs while walking 1 batter and whiffing 1. Kensing has now pitched in 135 games (3 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 8-9 with 2 saves, a 5.79 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. The Rockies won’t sweat over losing Kensing if he is claimed on waivers.

35-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Oswalt could make his Rockies’ debut this Thursady against the Washington Nationals. He has pitched in 5 games (all starts) in AA-ball for the Rockies this year and he is 3-2 with a 2.16 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He gave up 24 hits and 7 walks while whiffing 25 batters in his first 33 1/3 innings in the minors so far this year. Oswalt has pitched in 356 games (335 starts) in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 163-96 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Oswalt could give the Rockies’ rotation a nice boost.